The City of Corona recently attempted an annexation of a large area of Temescal Valley where Corona has a sphere of influence. The annexation was established in order to generate additional jobs and stop the drain of skilled workers from traveling to Orange County. The newly generated jobs would also help the city bring in additional revenue through business and sales tax. However, a lot of Temescal Valley residents strongly opposed the annexation because of speculation of higher taxes and fees from the city along with misperception of depleted public safety services. The Corona leaders plan on making another attempt of annexing our community within the next few years. The Corona Annexation is needed to create mid to high-level jobs and improve public safety in our community.

English: Annexation ceremonies.

English: Raising American Flag at United States An...

English: Taking the Oath of Allegiance to the Unit...

The City of Corona attempted to annex Temescal Valley in part to gain control of undeveloped land and gain millions of dollars in additional property and sales tax revenue. The City of Corona has almost no developable land left but has a growing population of more than 150,000 residents (Parrilla, 2011, p.1). The mayor and local government officials had an ambition to expand the city South of Corona. They attempted to annex a large portion of Temescal Valley, an area in consideration was approximately fifteen square miles. Most of the areas are currently undeveloped, and the plans were for the city to bring additional commercial and residential developments to the undeveloped areas along the Interstate 15 freeway. The planned annexation of Temescal Valley is home to approximately 22,500 residents, according to 2010 U.S. Census data (Parrilla, 2011, p.2). According to Gaines H. Liner and Rob R. McGregor (2002), "Annexation...